Recently I bought a battery-operated drill/driver and a sander. With two batteries I keep potential energy stored to use them when ready. I can be away from my charger and have use of my tools. The energy remains in the battery, ready to go.

Sometimes we are not able to use our organizing tools when we first have them. However, we have gained something. This potential energy is stored within us and becomes available when we are ready to organize. Recently I heard from a woman who began coming to my workshops several years ago. She told of her recent perseverance and accomplishment. Previously she had tried to use the tools in her organizing bag, but without much success. However, when she came to the task this time, there was still “charge in her battery” that powered her productive results.

What tools do you have for organizing?

Books on the bookshelf, like Julie Morgenstern’s Organizing from the Inside Out, or Kolberg and Nadeau’s ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life

Bins and totes you bought with dashed high hopes that are taking up valuable space

Money to hire an organizer, junk-hauler, or house cleaner

·A week-end long break without interruptions to tackle the garage or closets or kids’ rooms

A friend with whom you can trade time between your homes

What is stored in the battery to power your organizing tools?

Knowledge and information you have read or heard

Desire for things to be different

Memories throughout the decades waiting to be triggered

Do you know where to re-charge your battery?

Attend workshops or retreats

Read a book or watch a how-to video

Go to a friend’s house and have your jaw drop in envy or surprise (When I envied the order of my friend Connie’s house, she showed me her closed room and said, “Everyone needs a place to throw things out of the way for company!”)

Are you patient enough to wait when the battery needs time to re-charge? When we use our power tools consistently, we must pace ourselves, going between the work and the charger. This natural pace allows us to move forward without losing juice. Plan to keep progressing steadily instead of quickly, using energy to your advantage.